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Eurosurveillance, Volume 20, Issue 49, 10 December 2015
Rapid communication
MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS (MERS-COV) IN DROMEDARY CAMELS IN NIGERIA, 2015
Evidence of current and past Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in dromedary camels slaughtered at an abattoir in Kano, Nigeria in January 2015, was sought by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and serology.
MERS-CoV RNA was detected in 14 (11%) of 132 nasal swabs and antibody in 126 (96%) of 131 serum samples. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that the viruses in Nigeria are genetically distinct from those reported in the Arabian peninsula.
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Rapid communication
MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS (MERS-COV) IN DROMEDARY CAMELS IN NIGERIA, 2015
Evidence of current and past Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in dromedary camels slaughtered at an abattoir in Kano, Nigeria in January 2015, was sought by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and serology.
MERS-CoV RNA was detected in 14 (11%) of 132 nasal swabs and antibody in 126 (96%) of 131 serum samples. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that the viruses in Nigeria are genetically distinct from those reported in the Arabian peninsula.
...zoonotic potential of these viruses cannot be excluded. Further studies to determine the genetic diversity and biological characterisation of MERS-CoV across Africa are urgently needed. Studies looking into seroprevalence of humans exposed to settings associated with such high levels of exposure to MERS-CoV such as camel abattoirs across Africa are also important to assess the extent of zoonotic spill-over, if any.